This invention relates to an apparatus for detecting a quantity level of residual ink remaining within an ink cartridge. More particularly, the present invention relates to such an apparatus effectively operable when it is applied to a printer which operates while selectively using the same or different types of ink cartridges attached thereto as the current printing condition requires.
There are various proposals on the apparatus for detecting a quantity level of ink left in the ink cartridge (referred to as an ink-level detecting apparatus).
For example, there is disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-58854 a residual ink level indicator comprising: a counting section for counting print dot signal; a storage section for storing count data received from the counting section in the form of accumulation data; and a detecting section for detecting a quantity level of ink left within the ink cartridge by use of the data stored in the storage section (hereinafter, referred as a first related art).
Besides, there is disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-316856 an apparatus for detecting a quantity level of residual ink in an ink jet printer comprising: printable-dot number storage section for storing the number of printable dots corresponding to the total ink capacity of an ink cartridge; a printed-dot number storage section for storing the number of dots actually printed with the printed; a memory control section for additively storing the quantity of sucked ink in the form of the number of printed dots into the printed-dot number storage section every time priming section operates; and residual-ink-level detecting section for producing a quantity level of residual ink by use of the number of printable dots and the number of printed dots (hereinafter, referred as a second related art).
The first and second related arts are each able to detect a quantity level of ink left in an ink cartridge attached to the printer.
In the field of recent ink jet printers, the market demands full-color printing ability and use of water-resistant ink. To meet the market demand, some types of recent printers are designed such that different types of ink cartridges may be attached to one printer. Specifically, in some jet printers, two types of ink cartridges (e.g., a black ink cartridge and a color ink cartridge) may be attached to one printer. With the diversification of the printing styles and increase of the number of ink cartridges attached, a chance will increase where the ink cartridge of which ink is not used up is removed and replaced with another cartridge.
Meanwhile, in recent days, there increases a facsimile machine having additional functions, for example, printer and scanner functions. In other words, the monofunctional facsimile machine is free from the replacement of the ink cartridge. The cartridge replacement is inevitable to the multi-functional facsimile machine, however. This is because when it functions as a printer, the color printing and use of the water-resistant ink are unavoidable, and a required ink cartridge must be selected and used instead.
Thus, the ink jet printer and the facsimile machines are operated while selectively using different types of ink cartridges attached thereto as the current printing condition requires. In this case, it is essential for the user to know a quantity of ink left at present in an ink cartridge that is already used; otherwise, the following problem would arise. When the ink cartridge is replaced with another cartridge during the printing, and a quantity of ink remaining within the selected and replaced cartridge is small, printed characters will blur during the printing process. In this case, the print thus far made must be discarded. This is uneconomical.
The first and second related arts are designed on the assumption that the ink cartridge attached to the printer is not detached from it till the cartridge is depleted. This fact rejects direct application of the techniques of the first and second related arts to the recent ink jet printer and the facsimile machine which each selectively use different types of ink cartridges.
Further, when a residual ink level of one ink cartridge is detected, and the cartridge is detached from the printer and another ink cartridge is attached thereto, neither of those related arts can recognize whether the replaced cartridge was used, and hence cannot exactly detect a residual ink level therein.
It is therefore an object of the present invention is to provide an ink-level detecting apparatus effectively operable even when an ink cartridge that is already used is attached again to the printer.
In order to achieve the above object, there is provided an ink level detecting apparatus comprising: an ink cartridge, which is to be mounted in a printer, having an ID including cartridge type information and an identifying code; a fundamental data storing section for previously storing cartridge type information and ink capacity information associated therewith of ink cartridges which are to be mounted in the printer; a counting section for counting the number of ink dots jetted from the ink cartridge; an ink quantity storing section for storing residual ink quantities in ink cartridges mounted on the printer in association with identifying codes thereof; an ink quantity calculating section for reading the ID of the ink cartridge mounted in the printer to read out the residual ink quantity from the ink quantity storing section based on the identifying code in the ID, to read out the ink capacity from the fundamental data storing section based on the type information in the ID when the residual ink quantity associated with the identifying code is absent in the ink quantity storing section, and to thus calculate new residual ink quantity based on the number of ink dots counted by the counting section and one of the residual ink quantity read from the ink quantity storing section and the ink capacity read from the fundamental data section; and an ink quantity memory control section for storing the new residual ink quantities calculated by the ink quantity calculating section into the ink quantity storing section in an updating manner.
According to the present invention, there is also provided an ink level detecting apparatus comprising: an ink cartridge, which is to be mounted in a printer, having an ID including cartridge type information and an identifying code; a fundamental data storing section for previously storing cartridge type information and ink capacity information associated therewith of ink cartridges which are to be mounted in the printer; a counting section for counting the number of ink dots jetted from the ink cartridge; a dot number storing section for storing an accumulation of the numbers of jetted ink dots of ink cartridges mounted on the printer in association with identifying codes thereof; an ink quantity calculating section for reading the ID of the ink cartridge mounted in the printer to read out the accumulated dot number from the dot number storing section based on the identifying code in the ID, to read out the ink capacity from the fundamental data storing section based on the type information in the ID, and to thus calculate new residual ink quantity based on the number of ink dots counted by the counting section, the accumulated ink dot number read from the dot number storing section and the ink capacity read from the fundamental data section; and an ink quantity memory control section for storing new accumulated ink dot number, which is obtained by the ink dot number counted by the counting section, into the dot number storing section.
These appratuses further comprise a display section for displaying the residual ink quantity of the ink cartridge mounted on the printer which is stored in the ink quantity storing section according to the identifying code in the ID of the ink cartridge.
These appratuses further comprise an alarming section for generating an alarm when the calculated residual ink quantity is lower than a predetermined quantity level.
According to the present invention, there is also provided an ink level detecting apparatus comprising: an ink cartridge, which is to be mounted in a printer, having a nonvolatile memory in which residual quantity of ink therein is stored; a counting section for counting the number of ink dots jetted from the ink cartridge; an ink quantity calculating section for reading out the residual ink quantity from the nonvolatile memory to calculate new residual ink quantity based on the number of ink dots counted by the counting section and the residual ink quantity; and an ink quantity memory control section for storing the new residual ink quantities calculated by the ink quantity calculating section into the nonvolatile memory in an updating manner.
The appratus further comprises a display section for displaying the residual ink quantity stored in the nonvolatile memory.
In the apparatus, type information of the ink cartridge may be stored in the nonvolatile memory.
These appratuses may be mounted on the printer in which the cartridge is to be mounted.
These appratuses may be mounted on a host computer to which a plurality of printers in which the cartridge is to be mounted.